A Poem of Love
by Cutesy Lolita Elizabeth
Summary: When trying to relax with a book, Maka spots a little slip of paper on the floor - which turns out to be a love poem to her from Crona that she wasn't actually meant to read.
1. A Poem of Love

**Author's Note: And this is the rubbish that is the result of me loving an anime and shipping something from it too hard. I think I might need to apologize for this existing, and if this gives you eye cancer, I'll find a way to pull together the money to pay for the bills related to it.**

**Oh, and please try to ignore Ragnarok's existence. Just, like, pretend he's doing more interesting stuff. (But idk what other more interesting stuff he could be doing, because essentially, he's blood, so...)**

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to join us? We're gonna have a lot of fun! It'l be _awesome_!"

"Yeah, Maka, I don't see how you can be able to stay inside all day on a day like this. You're more than welcome to join us."

Maka smiled at Blackstar and Soul in return for their offer. "I got a few books yesterday, and I really want to get started on them. I'll hang out with you later, okay?"

"All right. See ya later." Soul waved, almost in a dismissive way, and Blackstar just raced off without another word.

"Have fun!" Maka called after them, waving although neither of the boys were looking in her direction. They seemed pretty excited to go do God-knows-what, and while it was something that she might very well have enjoyed, she had decided to stay behind. It was a beautiful day—ideal to spend some time outside, even if only to enjoy the rays of the sun. But she wasn't lying when she said she wanted to get started on the books she had recently purchased. Just reading over the summaries printed on the backs of them had delighted her, and they each seemed like they would be wonderful reads in their own ways.

She closed the door and picked up the novel that had intrigued her the most off the coffee table where she had put them. Since she didn't really get the time to begin any of them, she didn't bother even touching them—had she, and she probably would have read the first page of one, and then an hour later, Soul would have probably gone looking for her, and he would have found her on her bed, lying on her stomach and too thoroughly involved in one of the books to stop when she should have been doing something entirely different instead.

But as she sat down, a slip of paper on the floor caught her eye, so she leaned forward and picked it up. She couldn't remember writing a note and folding it up nor could she remember receiving anything like that, Soul writing or receiving anything like it and just leaving it somewhere random didn't seem like a very plausible event, and what any of her other friends would be doing leaving their notes around her place was beyond her. She unfolded it to find Crona's handwriting all over the paper. A poem is what it was, and he must have accidentally left it there. How long had it been sitting there and how had it gone unnoticed?

_If we're friends, we're supposed to tell each other everything.  
__Isn't that just what friends are meant to do?  
__But there's a voice that tells me I'm even more pathetic now,  
__And I'm beginning to think it's true.  
Maybe I'm just a complete failure of a friend  
Because there's something huge I've been keeping from you._

_I don't think I can deal with this much longer,  
Every time I talk to you, my mind starts up a silent fight.  
I'm losing so much sleep because of this,  
And I cry over my cowardice almost every night.  
Ragnarok tells me this will stop; it's "just a stupid crush,"  
But I know he can't be right._

_I'm too scared to say this out loud, but I have to tell you—  
Maka Albarn, I really love you._

_~Crona_

Wait...did she read that right? Crona was in love with her? How could that be? Maka had dismissed all hopes she had of Crona returning the feelings she had for him, and here she was, holding a poem written to her from him and warm happiness filled her her heart and bubbled over to the rest of her body. A smile spread across her face as she retrieved a sheet of paper and a pencil from her desk. Never had she been so thankful for the emotion contained in the right combination of words in a way that it was easily more beautiful than anything else that could exist, aside from the emotions being portrayed themselves.

It didn't take long to scribble out a poem in response. Once it was finished, she took a few more moments to copy it down in her absolute best and prettiest handwriting. She had just finished writing the final copy when there was a knock at the door.

"Coming!" she called, getting up from her desk and going to answer the door.

It was a bit of a surprise to Maka to see Crona standing in the doorway.

"I think I dropped something here," he stated, seeming uneasy and somewhat worried. He fidgeted with the cuffs on his sleeves, as if he needed something—anything at all—to keep his hands busy. "Can I come in and look for it?"

"Yeah, I d—" Maka stopped herself mid-sentence as it occurred to her that he didn't intentionally leave the poem there, but instead had it with him but accidentally dropped it without realizing he had. "I think I know what you're talking about. Come inside, and I'll go get it for you."

She returned to her room to get her poem, folded it up the same way Crona had folded his poem, and held it out to him. "Here."

Crona tentatively took the paper and unfolded it, then looked up at Maka. "This isn't it..."

"I know, but I still think you should read it."

_Constant desire—  
Undying affection—  
Silent infatuation—  
Every passing day,  
More pain because of what is there,  
Opposed to what I want to be there—  
Perfection you can't see—  
Self-loathing that shouldn't happen—  
Wishes that you'll realize your full value.  
Why can't you see everything I do?  
Why can't you see all your positive points?  
Why must you suffer?  
There's so much about you to love,  
And I want you to see that.  
You are not pathetic,  
And you are not a coward.  
Can't you see how much you offer?  
Can't you see how brave you truly are?  
I want to help you in any way I can,  
Walk by your side to the ends of the world,  
Be the one you always talk to,  
And never leave you alone.  
I want to teach you how to love everything good,  
And how to ignore everything bad.  
I want to teach you how to love yourself,  
Teach you that there's so much good in you.  
So take my hand,  
And I'll show you just how much your worth  
By loving you for the rest of forever._

Subtly trembling and beginning to tear up, Crona impulsively threw his arms around Maka and squeezed her tightly. The first friend he had ever had, and the first _girl_friend, and—if he wasn't getting far enough ahead of himself already—the only girlfriend as well.

Maka returned the hug, being far more gentle with him than he was with her.

After a few minutes, he let go, looking back down at what Maka had written for him. "You, um...meant it, didn't you?"

A warm smile returned to Maka's face. "Every word of it." She didn't wait for a response before giving Crona a soft kiss. Then she held her hand out in front of her, palm up. "Crona, is it all right if I call myself your girlfriend from now on?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Weeeell, just send in the bills the eye cancer got you, and I'll cover it... I've gotta make a lot of money now, don't I?**


	2. A Song of Love

**Author's Note: I had intended this to be a one-shot, but I was told to write more, so I decided to add another chapter. I do hope it's satisfactory. ^-^ I also hope you don't mind a few other implied ships here.**

* * *

Maka lay on the couch, reading one of the novels she had finally gotten around to starting. It was one of the best she'd ever read, and after four hours of just lying there reading it, she was almost finished. The words flowed perfectly and smoothly, and the plot was unreal. It took only the first sentence to pull all her attention to it. She almost didn't even notice when Soul tossed the door open, and she wouldn't even have responded to his presence had he not spoken to her first.

"Hey, Maka, where's that poem you got from Crona?"

Without moving her gaze from the black text printed on the perfectly white pages of the book and without moving her attention away from the words, Maka absentmindedly gave her reply: "What does it matter?"

"I wanna borrow it. I'm not gonna do anything to it, Blackstar just wants to see it for a little while."

"_Excuse me_?!" Her voice instantly changed from dull and passive to something of a screech as she hurled the book at Soul, who was just barely able to catch it before it hit him. "I could never be too involved in a book to _ever_ give him permission to even _touch_ it! What were you—"

Soul tossed the book back to Maka and cut her sentence short. "I doubt he'll do anything to it. Let me tell ya what—if I return it in any condition other than the one it's in, then I'll do whatever you want me to do without arguing for the next six months."

This was Blackstar they were talking about. Arrogant, careless, rowdy, obnoxious Blackstar who Maka heavily doubted could place any proper value on any possessions that weren't his own. But what about the offer Soul had just made? No way he would have even tried to make a deal like that unless he was entirely sure things would go the way he expected them to, so she decided that she could give in under those circumstances. "All right, fine. It's on my desk."

"I'll see you in the dance studio at six, 'kay?" he said after taking the poem, and opened the door to leave. "I got permission to borrow it for the evening for something, and there'd be no point if you didn't come."

What could he have planned? Oh well, she would have time to think about that later—she could wait until after she finished the book, so she opened it up and flipped back to the page she had been working on before her weapon had interrupted her. She could read, she just had to keep an eye on the clock as well.

* * *

It was nearly six o'clock when Maka closed the book and sat up. Once she placed the novel on the coffee table, it occurred to her that she had forgotten something that may or may not have been pretty important. What time was it? How long ago had she forgotten to keep track?

Upon checking the time, hoping she had enough time to get to the dance studio without being late, she muttered a swear word under her breath and headed out.

An hour! She had to watch the clock for _one freaking hour_ and she completely spaced it! Fortunately, though, she had arrived only about seven minutes late.

The layout Soul—or whoever was in charge of arranging everything, since it wasn't just Soul there—had chosen on was a little bit puzzling. There was a piano in the middle of the room, for starters. _What_ was the piano doing in that room and _why_ had they decided to move it there? Soul was sitting in front of the piano, Kidd was sitting next to him with a somewhat confused expression as the scythe tapped some of the keys and explained something about different notes,—perhaps trying to teach the reaper how to play or teach him what each key's note was—Blackstar sat on the back of the instrument kicking his legs subtly, and Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki leaned against the piano chatting.

"Hey, guys," she said brightly, smiling. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

Kidd was the first to acknowledge her arrival. "I'm not too surprised Crona is running a little late, but I expected you to be here right on time. Late or not, I suppose, you're still here—so hello."

"We still can't start without Crona anyway," Soul stated.

"Yeah, where is he anyway? Is he on his way? Have you seen him?" The words rushed out of Patty's mouth almost too quickly for Maka to decipher everything she said.

As if on cue, Crona entered the room right as the blond meister was about to reply, with Marie right behind him.

"Is this the right room, or have I gotten us lost again?"

"Yeah...Maka and the others are here."

Patty squealed childishly and clapped her hands together. "We can start now!"

Instantly, Soul's hands moved over the keys, creating a slow, sweet tune, and Patty held up a microphone to Blackstar. The blue-haired boy took it and dropped himself from the piano.

Marie leaned forward so that she was at the same height level as Maka. "What's going on? Is it all right for me to stay for this, or am I intruding?" she whispered.

"To be honest," Maka responded softly and quietly, "I don't know, so I think you can stay if you want."

To this, the teacher responded with a single nod as she stood up.

_"I think I've failed you as a friend...  
__To think I meant to be honest with you,  
'Til the very end._

_I couldn't help it—I was so afraid,  
So just pay attention to my words, 'cause I can't  
Say this any other way._

_And I feel so empty without you,  
But I'm not worthy of being loved,  
So I don't know what to do."_

Who knew Blackstar could actually sing? And who would have guessed he would have any interest in a song so slow-paced and sentimental?

Once he passed the mic over to Patty, she began singing the next part of the song—and it was a great surprise how stunningly beautiful her voice was.

_"You are brave, even if you can't see it.  
__You are worthy, even if you don't know it.  
You are perfect, and you better believe it.  
Whoahoh~  
Why can't you see yourself like I do?"_

_"I don't know how to say any of this,  
So by writing down my thoughts,  
I'm doing my very best._

_Shoot for the moon, I might get hurt—  
It'll make it all the worse when I'm  
Hurled back into the dirt._

_But just looking at you makes my heart rush,  
And it doesn't matter what I'm told—  
This isn't a petty crush."_

If Maka wasn't mistaken, she heard a very quiet sniffle from Marie as Blackstar passed the microphone back to Patty.

_"Why can't you see that you're so brave?  
__Why can't you see that you're fully worthy?  
Why can't you see that you're perfect?  
Whoahoh~  
Why can't you see yourself like I do?"_

_"I'm so confused, I can't deal with it.  
I want you to love be back, but  
How could I ever deserve it?"_

_"Don't you dare talk like that anymore.  
__Take my hand right now, so I can show you—  
I'll show you what you're missing.  
_

Patty smiled softly, using Blackstar's shoulder to turn him so he was facing her and gently grasping his hand with her own, and Maka could sense some sort of mutual spark between the two.

_Whoahoh~  
__Show you how to see yourself like I do.  
_

_I'll teach you that you're so brave,  
I'll teach you that you're worth it,  
I'll teach how perfect you really are.  
Whoahoh~  
Just take my hand, and...  
I'll...show...you..."_

Soul played a few more notes before the song stopped. It was sweet as sugar, really—he was never willing to play for other people, and he had just played an original song based off the poems Crona and Maka had written to each other, specially for the two. And to make it even sweeter, Patty had pulled Blackstar forward to kiss him; Soul had his arm around Kidd, and he obviously had some kind of hold on the reaper's hip; and Liz's fingers were interlocked with Tsubaki's, and their heads were leaned against each other. Marie was quietly clapping, and pretty obviously crying at least a little, although almost silently, right behind Crona and Maka.

Deciding to add to the air of sweetness, Make turned to her boyfriend, laced her fingers behind his head, and kissed him—and in that moment, nothing else mattered.

* * *

**Author's Note: That song is a little clunky at some parts, but please note that I certainly am _not_ a professional songwriter. ^^; That's just not where my talent is, but I thought this might be a cute thing to do. I also just wanted to write more CroMa (with some bits of Patty/Blackstar, SoKi, and TsuLiz, because those ships are all adorable as well). I also find _Soul Eater_ fanfiction to be pretty fun to write, so I also wanted another opportunity to do that. But now I wanna write crap for those other couples...urgh, but I don't have ideas...hdfs**

**But I'll stop there, I'm rambling now... XD  
**

**Please review~ It'll make me very happy.**


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